WISE – The UVA Wise men's and women's golf program had four players named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® At-large Team for the 2026 season, with
Evan Loftis,
Abby Bradley,
Julia Kessler, and
Emma Zelaski earning the honor.
Kessler is one of the few UVA Wise student-athletes to earn Academic All-District honors for the third time, which is every year they are eligible. The senior from Maryville, Tennessee, had a solid season as she averaged 84.84 strokes for the year (fifth-best in program history) with a top-ten finish in the Northeast Tennessee Spring Shootout. She ended her career ranked seventh in program history in scoring average with an 87.47 average.
Bradley, a junior from Castlewood, Virginia, averaged a program season-best 78.33 stroke average in 15 rounds this year, placing in the top ten in a tournament twice. Her round of 71 in the first round of the Agnes McAmis Memorial Classic was the lowest single round in program history and the first time a UVA Wise women's golfer had an under-par round since the program started in 2012.
Zelaski, a sophomore from Louisa, Virginia, averaged an 85.21 scoring average for the season over 19 rounds. That is the seventh-best season average in program history and she has an 85.86 scoring average for her career to date, ranking her third all-time.
Loftis, a senior from Canton, North Carolina, had an 80.43 scoring average over 21 rounds this season. He had one round of par or better this season with a 72 in the first round of the Atomic City Classic.
The Academic All-District® Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court/field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Nominees must be at least a sophomore with a 3.5 grade point average or higher. They must also have played in a specific number of games/matches or started a specific number of games/matches.
Some sports have extra criteria, like track and field nominees needing to win or place highly in the regional rankings. The number of nominees are limited within each respective sport and the at-large team (which comprises golf, lacrosse, beach volleyball, field hockey, and several other sports).
